PCB Design Engineer
Experience: 0.5–2 years
Location: Banglore
Employment: Full-time
About the Role
We are looking for a PCB Design Engineer to join our product development team. The primary responsibility of this role is to convert completed electrical schematics into high-quality, manufacturable PCB layouts.
The schematic and circuit design will be provided by the hardware design team. The candidate will be responsible for schematic capture, component footprint management, component placement, PCB routing, design cleanup, design-rule checking, and manufacturing file generation.
The candidate should have a strong understanding of PCB placement and routing guidelines, especially for power electronics, analog, digital, and mixed-signal circuits.
Key Responsibilities
- Capture the provided electrical schematic into the PCB design tool.
- Create, verify, and manage component footprints and PCB libraries.
- Assign appropriate footprints based on component datasheets and mechanical requirements.
- Create PCB board outlines and define mechanical constraints.
- Perform component placement based on electrical, mechanical, thermal, and manufacturing requirements.
- Perform PCB routing for:
- Power and high-current traces
- Analog signals
- Digital signals
- Communication interfaces
- Switching power supplies
- Sensitive measurement signals
- Follow proper PCB placement and routing guidelines for reliable circuit operation.
- Understand and implement proper:
- Grounding and return-current paths
- Power distribution
- Decoupling capacitor placement
- High-current trace routing
- Switching-node routing
- Analog/digital separation
- Thermal considerations
- Creepage and clearance
- EMI/EMC-conscious layout practices
- Optimize component placement and routing for signal integrity, thermal performance, EMI, and manufacturability.
- Perform PCB cleanup and layout optimization before release.
- Run and resolve DRC/ERC and other PCB design-rule violations.
- Review PCB layout against the schematic and ensure proper connectivity.
- Verify component references, values, footprints, mounting orientation, polarity, and pin connections.
- Prepare final manufacturing outputs including:
- Gerber files
- NC Drill files
- Pick-and-Place/Centroid files
- Fabrication drawings
- Assembly drawings
- PCB manufacturing documentation
- Prepare and maintain PCB design files and revision-controlled documentation.
- Coordinate with PCB fabrication and PCB assembly vendors when required.
- Support prototype PCB manufacturing and resolve fabrication-related issues.
Required Skills
- 0.5–2 years of practical experience in PCB layout/design.
- Strong hands-on experience with any professional PCB design tool such as:
- Altium Designer
- Good understanding of PCB placement and routing principles.
- Ability to read and understand electrical schematics.
- Good knowledge of electronic component packages and footprints.
- Ability to select/verify footprints from component datasheets.
- Understanding of high-current and power PCB layout.
- Understanding of grounding, power planes, return paths, and decoupling.
- Good knowledge of PCB DRC and manufacturing requirements.
- Ability to generate and verify Gerber and manufacturing files.
- Good attention to detail.
Good to Have
- Experience working with 2-layer and 6-layer PCBs.
- Experience with power electronics PCB layouts, including DC-DC converters, battery chargers, MOSFET-based circuits, and power supplies.
- Experience with mixed-signal boards containing MCU, ADC, DAC, sensors, and communication interfaces.
- Understanding of EMI/EMC-conscious PCB layout.
- Experience with high-current PCB routing and thermal management.
- Experience reviewing PCB layouts against datasheet/reference-design layout recommendations.
- Experience with PCB fabrication and assembly processes.
Important
This is primarily a PCB Layout/Design role, not a schematic design role.
The electrical schematic and circuit design will be provided by the hardware design team. The candidate is expected to convert the schematic into a professional PCB design and take ownership of:
Schematic Capture → Footprint Assignment → Placement → Routing → PCB Cleanup → DRC → Design Review → Gerber/Manufacturing Files
The candidate should be able to understand why components need to be placed and routed in a particular way, rather than simply connecting the nets according to the schematic.
Candidate Profile
We are looking for someone who is:
- Detail-oriented
- Strong in PCB layout fundamentals
- Good at following PCB placement and routing standards
- Comfortable working with complex electronic boards
- Able to identify and correct PCB layout issues independently
- Willing to work hands-on with the hardware development team
- Interested in developing expertise in professional PCB design and manufacturing
